well, I am going to jump in and join the conversation! I have been lurking here and there for a while now but I tried Lose it back in February and did very well with it, though I will not make my original goal that I set for myself for July 1. But I did manage to stop the upwards direction I found myself in. And I lost 12 lbs! But I now see that logging is the key to the success of the program. I have not been doing that consistently in May so I avoid the scale, etc all bad habits coming back, so today I am going to log and also reach out to see if chatting and support will keep me on the straight and narrow again. I have a long vacation coming up so I need a bit more buffer and need to be in a better frame of mind so that I don't go crazy eating. So off to Log my breakfast.

I did not log this weekend but was mindful of what I ate! Also, working on planning my breakfast and lunch this week. Dinner as you know more difficult as I don't cook but certainly can watch portion size.

Welcome, Roma!!! We will be here for you - sometimes I forget to check for a day or so, but rest assured, we're an encouraging bunch. :) You WILL find the same success you had before if you go back to logging and being accountable to yoursel for everything. 12 more lbs, whatever you goal, it is achievable.

Allready, you are getting there - great job! I wish you'd ask your husband to jot down his creations and how many 1 cup servings the dish makes so you CAN enter them into LoseIt and have the FULL MEASURE of success you deserve, no pun intended, LOL!! I often will dump the dish into an 8 qt measuring cup after it's done, and all my LoseIt recipes have one cup as a serving. Then, I can pick 1/8th of a cup or whatever I eat and not wonder what I called a serving in this recipe and that.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've logged every single thing I've had to eat and drink since Nov 11, nearly 7 months! My goal of logging maintenance for a whole year is going well, and I have all new clothes to show for it. Not showing off, just being a vivid example of what logging everything, every day does lead to.

My mom, too, is enjoying terrific success - she has lost 18 lbs since January! At 67 she said, "I can't because of menopause, I've been fat all my life, my genetics predispose me to being fat, I have an adrenal problem, I have a thyroid problem, and my husband isn't watching what he eats with me...it's impossible." Well, who is sporting all new clothes, now, and wearing belts and feeling and looking great? MY MOM!!! She's logged everything since January, and her husband does 90% of the cooking in their house, too.

Allready, good to see you when you can post (what is up with login?!). Keep going in the right direction and you will get to where you want to be! You are transforming this year, and it's not a race - every step you takes gets you further. Great job!

Above photo was me at my heaviest about 15 years ago (obviously far before LoseIt), and I lost a lot of that, down to my "before" photo I posted in May's LoseIt thread. So, you can say this is my before before. :) To the newer folks, you can see my "after" in the May LoseIt thread.

I counted calories in a notebook back then to get the weight off.

Allready, I am proud of and am pulling for you even when you can't post!!! Keep up the mindfulness and steps toward your health goals.

I'm 40 lbs lighter than I was in that picture - ALL by counting calories. No potions, incantations, pills, books, special foods to eat, special foods to avoid, diets, or surgery. Just energy in, energy out.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had to delete the "fat me" photo because, as Winter pointed out (thank you!), even after I posted, saw that the one I had chosen got posted, BDC CHANGED THE PHOTO randomly to another one in my iPad. It was seriously not anonymous.

So, no more photos if I can't trust that what I post actually STAYS what I post.

And, if you did catch it before I deleted it, that photo was taken this year on Valentine's Day, at my TARGET weight, not 40 lbs ago!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yay! So glad you are still here - we are happy to have new folks endeavoring to log and lose. :)

There are before and after photos in the May thread if you want to see my result from doing LoseIt alone. I lost 20 more pounds before starting LoseIt by counting calories in a notebook a long time ago. I had posted a photo of me my maximum weight, but it didn't "stick" and got changed to a photo I didn't feel comfortable keeping posted.

It seems like I am staying on track this week, now to survive the weekend, which has been my downfall this past month. But what I am finding is that even if I am under the calories allowed, if I don't exercise that week, I don't lose weight. So I think either I need to be more vigilant about the calories I think something is that I haven't actually measured and weighed or not remembering to log every bit. If I exercise , maybe those few items don't impact it.

I missed the before picture as well. Bummer it might have been my inspiration.

Well, again thanks for support! Logged the food I have today. Asked DH about at kitchen scale and we do have one so he said he will get it out. I wish I could get him to tell me the portions he puts in things but don't want to push. My plan as outlined before is to really plan my breakfast and lunch and then dinner really watch portions! Logging and I have upped my exercise. I have now given myself a December 31st deadline to be where I want to be!

Roma, exercise probably gives you about 150 - 300 calories which would translate to about 1/2 lb lost IF that is your only deficit. 500 calories of deficit (burned calories that are not eaten) per day causes your body to tap into your fat stores to make up the difference for 1 lb of stored energy/fat. Indeed, that does mean that logging everything accurately is essential.

allready, you are doing really well; I have seen a HUGE amount of emotional progress in you this year, and I think the emotional hurdles you are clearing are a big predictor of your meeting your goal you set for the end of the year. I totally understand your not wanting to burden your DH any more than he is for having cooked in the first place. So, instead of getting him to record his ingredients and servings, I think you will benefit tremendously from doing a little googling for the calories in foods that are SIMILAR to what your husband is preparing and going with those in the log. You might be 10% off on your dinners that way, but that's FAR better than the lack of recording dinner.

Sorry you missed the photo...I feel uneasy about having my face out there, although, not sure why - what could happen? It's not like my face, name, and address is posted with it, lol. Maybe I'll reconsider and post, again.

ETA: Roma, I do actually dirty about 10 tablespoons a day and all my measuring cups. If I can't find one it's probably in the fridge in a dish we're eating that week, lol. It takes a minute more, but the accuracy it affords me is a big part of the success I've experienced so I recommend that if you think your being off is messing you up to take that extra...wait for it...measure. ;)

Felt fabulous at a family bbq yesterday in one of my new (more casual) dresses, and made a mental note of everything I had to eat. It helps me to actually look carefully at my full plate before I eat and focus on what food is where on the plate so when I get home I can go around the whole plate in my head and account for every spot on it. When I spoon food, I estimate how much of everything I take. Then, the first thing I do when we get home is log. I go through the event 2 or 3 times in my head until I'm reasonably sure I've remembered everything. On the 2nd and 3rd pass I DO remember things I had left out the first time so that extra step is essential for me. Racked up a gigantic tally - almost 1600 calories! But, I had saved up for it earlier this month so it worked out to be OK.

Hoping my strategy encourages you and gives you ideas about how you, too, can fit all the summer parties into your lives and keep on trucking toward your weight goals. It's possible!

Had a salt laden lunch yesterday of a Reuben sandwich - yes, I ate the whole thing!! - fries, and ketchup. Didn't go over calorie wise, but I'm temporarily up 3 lbs from water retention. It happens! I love how counting calories gives me the freedom to not freak out wondering if I've gained real weight - the log says I haven't, and I know that's the case.

Still here! Logging - over indulged on Sunday, but by today back to what I was last Saturday. It is slow going that way, but I am ok with that. But I have had some trouble with Lose-it site. When I do some food searches it sometimes logs me out of explorer. So logging can sometimes be a time consuming effort.

Roma, have you updated the software to the latest version? It says it corrects that crashing problem.

your some green, some red days is totally normal - that's dictated by life. Some days are red bar days - birthday parties, special nights out, etc. other days are green bar days - times you just don't feel that hungry, etc. if you average your budget and lose at a rate of 1/2 lb - 1 lb per week you are on target and doing it right. Living life, enjoying the food-related events, and balancing it out over time.

Hi Kar, I don't see option to download newer version. I am not using an app that I downloaded, since I just end up logging into loseit.com so I would assume the website has the most recent version. There is an upgrade option but when I selected that it states it is 39.00 fee. That must give more robust features, though not sure what more someone would need. have done well this week so far! Father's day celebration Sunday, but won't be at my house, so won't have leftovers to deal with, which sometimes gets me into trouble.

Kar, you should start your own Loseit! group. You could really make some pocket money that way. You are such a great support and coach. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have lost my 20 plus pounds. Hugs!Sorry about your picture being changed. I did see it, and low and behold - it was just as I pictured you in my mind. Well, in a way I was cheeting. B/c I did see your wedding picture (you were showing someone your shoes), so this just added to it. How is Mom doing? And how is the gym situation going? Read your lunch choice (apples, yugurt, nuts) on the other thread. Sounds just like me. Have you tried TJ's Greek Vanilla Yougurt? It is just awesome. We put it on our fruit desserts instead of whipped cream and Cool Whip. Please do try it.For all you trying-to-loose-its. Please listen to Kargiver.

Do what your heart feels is right; you will be criticized anyway. - Eleanor Roosevelt

Roma - definitely if you are using the online version, you have the latest. Do not upgrade to the Premium; unless you have a Fitbit, it's not worth it. (I don't have a Fitbit nor plan to get one, by the way.) Hopefully, they'll fix that freezing problem you are experiencing soon. That must be very annoying.

Pingo, you made my day, thank you so much for your kind words letting me know I am the encouragement I hope to be. I offer support on the LoseIt app for free. I repeat myself 1000 times a day talking about the physics of fat loss, gain, and the difference between that and water and "bathroom" weight. People tell me I've helped them, and that's all the payment I need, truly. No amount of money can rival the joy that brings! I'm soooooooo proud of you and happy for your success, and I'm thankful that my encouragment did prove helpful, but YOU lost the 20 lbs by logging and sticking to your budget.

That's cool you saw the "new" me photo. I'm surprised you remember my wedding picture from that far back! I wish you could post before and after photos...I wouldn't dare, though, either, given the site's wackiness with photo switching.

Thanks for asking about my mom - she is still logging, losing, and is thrilled. I believe she's lost about 20 lbs, now, too. And, she and my dad will be coming north for a school reunion in August - she is so excited about getting dressed up and seeing old friends being either at or very close to her ultimate weight goal by then.

When I got that terrible cold that morphed into the lilac allergy issue I stopped going to the gym, but next week I'll be back to it. My drip/cough is essentially gone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~